Draft rigging



Aug. 20, 1929. D. s. BARRows DRAFT RIGGING Filed Deo. 17, 1925 2Sheets-Sheet L. Vll IVEHMHHMUfFIrIdH m @MU attenta Patented Aug. 20,1929.

Unirse STAT-Es PAirNi' oFFicE..

DONALD S. BARROWS, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE SYMINGTONCOM- PANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF MARYLAND.

DRAFT RIGGING.

Application filed December 17, 1925. Serial N'o. 76,056.

llhis invention relates to draft rigging and, more particularly, to ahousing adapted for holding the cushioning mechanism thereof.

The principal object of niyinvention, generally considered, is theprovision of a h ousing for cushioning mechanism. and especiallycushioning mechanism involving a series. of vertically arranged platesadapted for being 1o flexed between followers or spacers withcomplementary curved surfaces, said housing being economicallyconstructed and arranged for normally receiving wear on only the lowersection thereof, said housing being adapted for reversal when said lowers ection becomes worn for alternatelyreceiving wear on the initiallyupper section thereof.

An object of my invention is the provision of a housing constructed witha pair of opposite sides preferably formed by c asting and joined byrelatively light sections preferably formed of pressed steel, at leastone of said sections being readily removable from the sides forinserting cushioning mechanism therein.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a housing especiallyadapted for receiving cushioningmechanism of the Vaugh type andpreferably formed with malleable iron sides and pressed steel top andbottom sections, said housing normally receiving wear only on its bottomsection and being formed symmetrical for reversal in position to receivewear on the original top section.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a reversiblecomposite housing for cushioning mechanism, said housing preferablyhaving two relatively inexpensive pressed plate pans serving as the wearelements thereof and two side panels of malleable iron, said pans beingadapted for successive use as the lower or floor portion of the housingto thereby receive substantially all the wear from the cushioningmechanisin and at least one of said pans being adapted for ready releasefrom and application to the side sections of the housing.

Other objects and advantages of the invention relating to the particulararrangement and combination of the various'parts will become apparent asthe description proceeds.

Referring to the drawings illustrating my invention, the scope whereofis defined by the appended claims:

Figure 1 is a central longitudinal vertical section of draft riggingembodying my invention, the housing for the cushioning mechanism,however, being illustrated in side elevation.

Figure 2 is an end view of the cushioning mechanism and housing shown inFigure 1. Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of the housing shownin Figure l, a portion thereof being illustrated in section on the line3 3 of Figure 4. y

Figure 4 is a` partial transverse sectional view on the line 4-'4 ofFigure 3.

Figure 5 is a partial plan and partial sectional view on the line 5-5 ofFigure 4. Figure G is a plan view of a modified form of draft riggingutilizing a housing constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 7 is a partial side elevation of a modified form of cushioningmechanism housing.

Figure 8 is a transverse sectional view of the modified form of housingillustrated in Figure 7 Y First considering the embodiment of myinvention illustrated in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, a cushioningmechanism housing 1, constructed in accordance with my invention, is

shown positioned between draft or center sills?l and enclosing orhousing cushioning mechanisms 3 of any desired character'. In'

the present instance, however, for t-he purpose of illustration, I haveshown the cushioning mechanism of the lVaugh type comprising series, offiexible plates 4 separated at convenient intervals by alternatelyarranged convex and concave spacers or followers 5 and G, respectively.At the oppo site ends of the series of plates 4 ar'e the front follower7 and rear follower 8, the upper and lower edges of said followers onthe outer surfaces thereof being notched at 9 and 10, respectively, forinterlocking'with the restraining flange portions 11 and 12 on theopposite ends of the upper and lower sections 13 and 14, respectively,of the housing 1.

The cushioning mechanism 3 is shown surrounded or embraced by a yoke 15,the forward ends of which are slotted for receiving draft rigging keys16 and 17, respectively,v

and the rear or closed end of which engages sills 2 and cheek plates 20.In a similar manner, the rear key 17 alines the slotted follower 21 withthe yoke 15 by passing through corresponding slots in said members andin the associated draft sills and cheek plates,

l, and serves for the transmission of draft forces from the slottedfollower 21 to the draft sills 2 from the cushioning mechanism 3 aftersuch forces havebeen delivered thereto by means of the coupler, frontkey 16 and the associated yoke 15.

The upper and lower sections 13 and 14, respectively, of the housing 1are preferably formed relatively light 'and inexpensive and areconnected by side panels 22 which are `preferably formeel as malleableiron cast-ings.

The housing in general is preferably vformed symmetrical `in outline sothat it may bc reversed in position as'it will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art that. substantially `all the wear occurs on the lowerpanel or section 14 and that the upper section 13 initiallyv issubstantially free from wear. Vhen, however, the lower section 14 hasbeen worn as much as is permissible, the housing and associatedcushioning mechanism may be bodily reversed in position so that thesection 14 is uppermost and the section 13 lowermost so that the wearwill `then be borne almost entirely by the section 13 thereby enablingthe use of said housing for substantially double the normal life of suchV'a housing if the same were not reversible For supporting the housingand associated cushioning mechanism in position, a plurality of carrierirons 23 and 24 are preferably employed andconnected to the lower`flanges of the associated sills in any desired manner.

To facilitate the assembly of the cushioning mechanism 3 in the housing1, at least one of the sections 13 and 14 is preferably made readilyremovable from the side panels 22 and the other section may be securelyconnected to said side panels as by means of `rivets 25. In theembodiment illustrated,

the means for connecting the section 14 to' the side panels 22 comprisescooperating flange portions 26 and 27 on the sec-tions 14 and 22,respf-icti-vely,v one of said flange provided with outstanding lugs 28and the other being provided with registering complementary apertures 29so that when the section 14 is positioned in place with respect to theside panels 22,

the lugs 28 engage in the apertures 29 for properly positioning theparts with respect to each other. For securing the flanges 27 and 28together, U-shaped locking bars 30 may be provided and adapted forsliding over the cooperating fianges 26 and 27 for securely wedging thesame together. To secure such a wedging action, the locking bars may beformed slightly tapered from one end to the other and the flanges 27 and28 provided with corresponding tapered ribs or beads 31 and 32,respectively, so that, when the locking bars are positioned in place,the section 14 is firmly secured to the side panels 22. When it isdesired to release section 14 from the side panels, it is merelynecessary to remove the locking bars 30 by sliding them longitudinallyfrom engagement with the flanges 26 and 27 and the rib portions 31 and32 thereof.

The side panels 22 may be constructed of any desired form but arepreferably rigidified by being panelled or corrugated as indicated at 33and reinforced by web portions 34 and vertical ribs 35. The panels 22are preferably decreased in weight by being provided witli. relativelylarge apertures 36 therein and the sections 13 and 14 are likewisepreferably provided with apertures 37 and 38, respectively, which areadapted for permitting dirt and the like to drop out of the housing whenin service. Although the housing is shown used in connection with Waughfriction draft gear, yet, as is obvious, it is suitable for housingother forms of draft gear. Itis obvious that as the only portions of thehousing which receive any material wear when in service are therelatively inexpensive sections 13 and 14 while the more expensivemalleable iron panels receivesubstantially no wear, that when saidsections 13 and 14are worn out they may be replaced by corresponding newsections and utilized with old section 22 to form a new housing, if sodesired.

Referring to Figure 6, my improved draft gear housing 1 is shownutilized with another form of draft rigging embodying a` vertical yoke39 connected with a coupler 4() by means of a key 41 extending betweenassociated sills 42. As distinguished from the draft rigging illustratedin Figure 1, the draft rigging illustrated in the present figureinvolves the use of front draft lugs 43 for limiting the forwardmotionof front follower' 7 and rear draft lugs 44 for limiting 'therearward motion of the rear follower 8. The housing 1 and associatedVdraft gear 3 are shown disposed horizontally rather than vertically sothat they better cooperate with the vertical yoke 39.k

Some of the advantages of my invention are secured by an arrangementsuch as shown in this figure, but it is obvious that all the benefits ofreversability and renewability of the sections 13 and 111 are notsecured, because the plates 4 and spacers 5 and 6 not only wear on thelowermost of the panels 22, but also wear on the adjacent portions ofthe sectioned?) and 11i so that the wear is not limited to therelatively inexpensive sections 13 and 14, as in the. arrangement shownin Figure 1. Except as specifically described in connection with FigureG, the construction of the housing and associated parts may be the sameas that illustrated in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive.

Referring now to the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figures 7and 8, a modified form of housing 1CL is shown in which the sections13"L and 14a are connected to the side panels 22a by having theoutwardly extending flanges 2G thereof overlapped by inwardly extendingflanges 27a of the panels 22a. The panels 22L are then secured in placeby a bolt or bolts l5 extending through registering apertures i6 in thepanels 22a. The head i7 of the bolt lo is preferably received in arecessed portion 48 of one of the side panels 22a and engages the loweror inner wall 49 thereof and the opposite panel 22a is preferablycorrespondingly recessed for receiving the nut 50 and washer 51 on theopposite end of the bolt 45. When assembled, as illustrated, theseetions 13a and 14a are frictionally held in position by engagement ofthe side panels 22 therewith.

Although I have illustrated my improved draft gear housing associatedwith l/Vaugh draft gear, it is obvious that l do not wish to berestricted to such an association as my housing is suitable for use inother connections. Said housing is also suitable for use with othertypes of draft rigging than that involving horizontal or vertical yolresas the same may be used with draft links instead of yokes and may beused in other arrangements than that illustrated in the drawings.

Having now described my invention, what l claim is 1. A draft gea-rhousing comprising side portions and top and bottom sections, saidsections having outwardly extending overlying flanges for joining themtogether, one of said sections being readily releasable from the sidesections and the other being immovably connected thereto.

2. A draft gear housing comprising cast side portions formed withoutwardly extending flanges at top and bottom thereof, and pressed topand bottom sections formed with webs extending, respectively, downwardlyand upwardly, and formed with outwardly extending flanges on their freeedges overlying the flanges on the side portions, said housing beingadapted for use with the sections positioned either way.

3. A railway draft rigging comprising resilient elements and followersdisposed to the front and rear of said resilient elements, and a housingsurrounding said resilient elements and formed with flanges retainingthe follower members in assembled position, said housing comprising pansformed with outstanding anges on their free edges and adapted foralternately supporting and receiving wear from said lresilient elementsand followers and joined by side sections formed with 'flangesregistering with the flanges on the pans, one of said pans being rigidlyconnected to the side sections by means extending through the respectiveflanges and the other one releasably con-A nected to the side sectionsby means embracing the other flanges.

4. A railway draft rigging comprising a series of resilient plates,follower members positioned at opposite ends of said series and arrangedfor flexing said plates, and a housing surrounding said plates andcomprising sides, the top and bottom edges of which are outwardlyflanged and connected byl top and bottom sections formed with lian gesregistering with the flanges on the sides, certain flanges of said sidesections and the corre'- sponding flanges on the engaging section beingformed to interlock against relative longitudinal movement and meansembracing said flanges for preventing disengagement thereof, saidsections being formed with forward and rearward extensions interlockingwith the followers for securing the same in position.

5. A draft gear housing comprising side sections formed with outwardlyextending flanges at top and bottom thereof and top and bottom sectionsformed with webs extending, respectively, downwardly and upwardly, thefree edges of said webs being formed with outwardly extending flangesoverlying the flanges of the side portions, means for immovablyconnecting said side sectionsto one of said top and bottom sections andmeans for releasably connecting the other of said top and bottomsections to said side sections.

6. A draft gear housing comprising side sections formed with outwardlyextending flanges at top and bottom thereof and top and bottom sectionsformed with webs extending, respectively, downwardly and upwardly, thefree edges of said webs being' formed with outwardly extending flangesoverlying the flanges of the side portions, means for immovablyconnecting said side sections to one of said top and bottom sections andmeans for releasably connecting the other of said top and bottomsections to said side sections, said means comprising a U-shaped memberslidable over the engaging flanges of the sections, the free edges j ofsaid flanges being formed with beading to prevent transverse removal ofthe U- shaped member and one of said flanges being lll() formed with lugmeans engaging in a correspondingly apertured portion in the cooperatingflange of the other section to provide an interlocking connectionbetween said sections.

7. A draft gear housing comprising side sections formed with outwardlyextending flanges at top and bottom thereof and top and bottom sectionsformed with webs extending, respectively, downwardly and upwardly7 thefree edges of said webs being formed with outwardly extending flangesoverlying the flanges of the side portionsi and means for connectingsaid side sections to one of the other sections Comprising a U-shapedmember slidable over engaging flanges of the sections, the free edges ofsaid flanges being formed to prevent transverse removal of the U-shapedmember.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

DONALD S. BARROVS.

